Barr Trail

Nice trail with some beautiful views. I think alot of people use this trail to come back down from the Manitou Incline Stairs hike but the trail is worth the hike up also. I would recommend checking it out if you are in town.

Activity Type: Hiking
Nearby City: Manitou Springs
Length: 26 total miles (R/​T) to Pikes Peak
Elevation Gain: 7,100 feet
Trail Type: Out-​and-​back
Skill Level: Difficult
Duration: 7 hours
Season: Best in Summer
This popular trail offers year-​round hiking, great views, and the option to stay overnight at Barr Camp without hauling your tent or camp stove. Early on, the trail has views of Manitou Springs, Colorado Springs (including downtown), and the Garden of the Gods, and later peeks of Pikes. Thousands of people hike, run, and mountain bike the trail every year.
I used Barr trail to reach Pikes Peak and back. Total 26 miles round trip from the bottom where the parking lot is. If you’re only interested in getting to Barr Camp then total is 7 miles. Or round trip 14 miles.
The Barr Trail is an easy way to get down from The Incline. From the half way point or from the very top. You see hikers run down from both points simply because it’s easy to do. It’s well maintained thanks to the Friends of the Peak (FTOP) who back In 2006, some 132 FOTP volunteers dedicated the equivalent of 252 days to maintaining and improving the Barr Trail. The trail is well marked and is travelled often providing packed dirt and rocks and an easy trail to follow.
This trail is busy but it thins out to almost zero fellow hikers when you pass the halfway point where you can bail out from The Incline.
This trail therefore can offer you solitude past the two exit areas mentioned above. It is well maintained and wide. You will be walking next to a stream that you can hear but not see when you reach the 5 mile marker or so.
I did enjoy my hike here. The solitude was the main attraction for me and of course bagging the awesome Pikes Peak.

Barr Trail was the route I selected for my first «14er» back in 2006 when I was a flatlander. Twenty four miles to the summit and back to the parking lot. It was an amazing trip and, at the time, felt like a fabulous accomplishment.
The first day, I arrived at Barr Camp on a wonderfully warm and sunny day. I camped overnight and tagged the summit the next day. The summit donuts are spectacular, especially after the hike up.
After arriving back at Barr Camp, I decided to break camp and hike all the way back down on summit day. Wow, the hike back down really killed my calves. The hike down from Barr Camp to the parking lot seemed to go on, and on and on.
Since then, I’ve moved back to Colorado Springs and have hiked Barr Trail up to the camp about three more times. I’ve also done the Incline many times and jogged back down Barr.
Some of the things I love about Barr Trail are:
–Refilling my water bottle at the stream at Barr Camp
–Getting above the Incline and away from the majority of the people on the Barr Trail
–Taking a break under the massive boulder that leans over the trail
–Taking the split to the «experimental forest»
–The A-​frame
–The «16 Golden Stairs», maybe not at the time I’m slogging up but afterward.. .
–The feeling of being «above the clouds»
–The camp and the wonderful, welcoming people who run it.
Having a massive mountain and convenient access to it in your backyard is a genuine luxury!

Barr Trail begins off of a parking lot in west Manitou Springs, off Ruxton Avenue, up Hydro Street. It is clearly marked by a sign and also has a little outhouse with helpful maps and guides nailed to the exterior. One sign indicates that Barr Trail takes about eight hours to maneuver for people who walk briskly. It is a little over 12 miles and about 7,800 feet of altitude.
I am from Chicagoland and am not used to any kind of altitude. Going up elevators is enough to make my ears pop. Going up three flights of stairs in Denver was enough to leave me breathless. I am physically fit. I workout five days a week. Oh — and I have asthma but it never bothers me.
I completed Barr Trail in nine hours while carrying a heavy backpack filled with water, clothes, and snacks. I was miserable. It was difficult for me to move one foot in front of the other (especially near the top) and I stumbled a lot because I didn’t have the energy to lift my feet high enough. Our friends who live in Colorado Springs completed Barr trail in eight hours. We hiked together until the last hour or so.
The trail was very clear and kept up. There were only a few parts near the top (in the rocky terrain) where the path was not obvious, but we still navigated it with ease. We saw some guys come down the trail on bikes. I think they were crazy. The trail was good for walking, but not wheels… In fact, I don’t think there was room for a helicopter to land. I wanted a helicopter to come and get me off of the mountain multiple times, but realized the easiest way off the mountain was at the top where the train stopped.
We stopped partway up the mountain at Barr Camp. People can make reservations and stay there overnight and eat, but we didn’t. We just used the stream to replenish our water supplies (sanitizing it of course).
We took the Cog Train down the mountain once we got to the top, which was probably the best part of the whole excursion. Unfortunately, we had to buy our tickets ahead of time and we missed our train. The conductor was kind enough to let us on the next train after all of the ticketed people were seated.